Shine Meek
by KaioM
Summary: Avoiding your own reflection can be pretty hard, but Naruto's determined not to look until everything's back to normal. Luck is a skill in and of itself, but when combined with power and determination, things can get ugly for your enemy, even more so when you aren't alone. In which Naruto is trying his best, and still it seems that he's underestimated. AU.


**.:Shine Meek:.**

**By: KaioM**

**Genre: **Adventure/Friendship/Humor/Hurt/Comfort, with the most dominant genre at the beginning and the most distant genre at the end.

**Full Summary:** Avoiding your own reflection pretty hard, but Naruto's determined not to look until everything's back to normal. Luck is a skill in and of itself, but when combined with power and determination, things can get ugly for your enemy, even more so when you aren't alone. In which Naruto is trying his best, and still it seems that he's underestimated. AU.

**Author's note: **Hello, all. This is the rewrite of a past story I wrote, called 'Two in One'. The main problem with 'Two in One' was the horrible, vague, rather confusing writing style. The second problem was that the story wasn't going where it was supposed to. This story is _not_ going to be a copy of 'Two in One', but many elements will be close to or the same. Along with that, this is kinda the prologue mixed with the first chapter, since the prologue is so short anyway and it bothers me when chapter 1 isn't the first thing on the chapter list. Enjoy.

I have no beta reader. If you would like to be my beta reader, please ask. If you are willing to be my beta reader, please tell me. Thank you.

For viewers who also read 'Two in One', I know this starts out totally different than my old story, but trust me, it's much better. Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not hold any rights to the manga or anime 'Naruto'. I do not claim to hold these rights, nor do I gain anything from writing this fanfiction, aside from my own enjoyment. Thank you for your understanding.

_(There is a girl. She wishes she could be human.)_

"Don't leave!" Naruto, just barely eight, reached up to press his hand against the mirror. His reflection stared at him with large, sad eyes, and Naruto couldn't tell if it was because his reflection was sad or if he was.

His reflection was like him, but different.

They both had blonde hair, but Naruto's reflection had longer hair than him. It was a bit darker in shade, a bit smoother in the way it fell down the reflection's shoulders. His reflection had thicker whisker scars, sharper canine teeth, a softer chin. The biggest difference would be the eyes, though. Naruto had bright, naïve, sky blue eyes that seemed to almost shine with innocence and kindness. His reflection had dark, grey eyes that swirled with green and hardly ever softened. Every now and then, when Naruto mentioned something his reflection didn't like, the eyes flashed a dark red. Naruto was a child. Mirror Naruto, who wasn't really Naruto at all, but instead just Mirror, was not.

_(A simple, human girl. Why couldn't she be one of those?)_

"You know that I can't stay." His reflection was so calm, so calm. Like this was okay, but it wasn't, not at all. Mirror was his only friend!

Naruto knew that his reflection was another person. Mirror knew things that Naruto didn't know, and always helped him remember these things. Mirror talked to him, but Mirror didn't sound like Naruto. Mirror had a lighter, softer voice, but at the same time, Mirror seemed… Harsh, when compared to Naruto. Mirror was Mirror and Naruto was Naruto.

But if Mirror left, Naruto would be Naruto and Mirror would be gone.

_(But that was not to be.)_

"But… But… Why? Can't you stay? Can't you stay with me?"

Mirror smile turned wistful. It reached out a hand to put over Naruto's on the mirror. "It's okay. I'll always be with you." Naruto watched his reflection point at Naruto's heart. "Right there. Always."

_(That will never happen.)_

Naruto never knew the gender of Mirror, because if Mirror was a boy, like Naruto, maybe that was why Mirror was his reflection. But Mirror always looked and sounded more like a girl than Naruto did, so maybe Mirror was a girl.

Naruto couldn't stop the tears that ran down his face in the bathroom. "But I don't want you there! I want you where you are!" Mirror winced at the sobbing child. "Please stay!"

Mirror reached out again, hand on the mirror. Naruto copied the action, like he would be able to touch Mirror, even though they had never touched before.

"I wish I could, Naruto." Mirror whispered, sounding so heartbroken about leaving that Naruto almost felt bad, almost felt forgiving. Almost. "But I can't."

Naruto stared at Mirror, watching in rapt horror as his reflection's hair grew shorter and lighter, the whisker marks thinner, the eyes more blue. He squeezed his eyes shut, as though that would make this stop.

"Mirror?" He whispered, finally. It felt like forever had passed. "Are you there? Mirror?"

Naruto opened his eyes, hoping to see Mirror like he always did when he looked into a mirror, but instead, all he saw was himself.

Naruto's eyes slowly bled red.

_(There was once a god whose only wish was to remain with mortals…)_

There was a scream, and the only mirror in the rundown apartment was destroyed. It wouldn't be put back together for a long time.

_(She worked so hard to try to make it come true. She tried so hard to stay.)_

The scream echoed throughout Konoha, each window in the apartment shattered within a moment. Too many reflections, too many, and none showed what he was looking for.

_(All she wanted, all she wished for, was to stay. To be human.)_

The scream was a cry of mourning. It did not belong coming from the mouth of a child.

_(Her wish was not granted.)_

Uzumaki Naruto had no control over these things.

_(Then again, neither did she.)_

_**Chapter 1-Wish**_

Uzumaki Naruto was not excited. Or happy. Or cheerful. Or energetic. Or any other emotion that might imply a positive connotation.

Oh, no.

He was _un_excited. And _un_energetic. And… _not_ happy. And, uh, _not_ cheerful. And any other emotion that implied a negative connotation.

Now, normally Naruto was a rather energetic, cheerful, excited, etc. etc. etc. type of person. Some might even say he was… Obnoxious.

But here, at the academy, surrounded by worthless, stupid windows that reflected only worthless, stupid reflections, it was hard to be happy. Mostly because someone had bothered to clean said worthless stupid windows recently, making them extra shiny and reflective. Damn those janitors! How dare they do their jobs?

Unfortunately, academy teachers didn't seem to understand the life of a child who hated reflective surfaces.

"Naruto? Question 6?" Iruka looked seconds away from bringing out the chalkboard eraser. Naruto, in a rare show of emotion, almost exploded in anger and frustration. And Iruka had the audacity to look upset? Naruto narrowed his eyes and settled for glaring at his wooden desk.

_Don't look at the windows, don't look at the windows, don't look, don't look, don't look don't look don't look don'tlookdonotlook-_

"Naruto! I'm talking to you!" Iruka's fingers were twitching, his eyes seemingly about to erupt in flame. Sakura, sitting behind Naruto, grumbled incoherent sentences that likely had to do with how much of an idiot Naruto was, and why couldn't Sakura answer all the questions, anyway? Ino, seated next to Sakura, snickered loudly. Another student, namely Kiba, snorted.

Naruto very nearly growled.

"I didn't hear you." He grinded his teeth together, hands clenching into fists when nearly the entire class laughed. "Repeat the question, please?"

"The question was as follows." Iruka was almost announcing the question, like it was something important. "What are the five basic chakra natures? For extra credit-" Here, Iruka rolled his eyes, like it was dumb to even mention extra credit in a question meant for Naruto. "-explain how each chakra nature reacts with another." Sakura was writing furiously in her notebook, stopping every now and then to stare into space thoughtfully. No one else in the class seemed to bother.

Naruto silently wished that every reflective surface in the village would smash itself to pieces, and then couldn't stop himself from being disappointed when nothing happened.

"The chakra natures are lightning, wind, fire, water, and earth. Lightning is strong to earth, but weak to wind. Wind is strong to lightning, but weak to fire. Fire is strong to wind, but weak to water. Water is strong to fire, but weak to earth. Earth is strong to water, but weak to lightning. Water can be used to make lightning attacks more effective, wind can be used to make fire attacks more effective, and earth is usually a defensive element. I suppose if you were a Nara, earth would be nice for making shadows." His voice was rougher than usual, bitterness seeping in. At the shocked looks from his classmates and teachers, Naruto barked out, "What are you all looking at?"

Iruka eventually broke the silence that followed Naruto's outburst. "Naruto, how did you know that?"

Naruto's eye twitched involuntarily in anger. "What the-how much of an idiot do you think I am? That was a simple question!" The windows appeared to be mocking him.

The class watched the interaction with interest. Sakura's pencil was abandoned on the floor, her jaw almost joining the writing utensil.

Iruka, meanwhile, sighed. "Naruto, we haven't talked about chakra natures in class yet. How did you answer that?"

Naruto twitched. "Are you saying that I'm an idiot? Everyone memorizes that before going into the academy!"

"What?"

"I knew them by the time I was four! Just because you might've known them sooner doesn't mean I'm stupid!"

"Naruto, don't lie."

"You're calling me a liar, and an idiot? I can file complaints against you for that!"

"You wouldn't, you-"

"Sure, insult me some more. Gives me more to use against you during the trial!" Naruto snarled, standing up from the desk.

And cue the 'peacemaker', Mizuki.

"Iruka-sensei! Naruto! Please calm down!"

Naruto took a couple steps back and sat himself back down at his desk, having migrated a couple steps to shout at Iruka. Iruka took a deep breath, glaring at Naruto like it was his job.

Which it kinda was. But still.

"Alright." Mizuki held his hands up in a calming gesture. "Let's take a deep breathe. First off, Naruto did answer that question correctly, no matter where he got the knowledge from." Iruka fumed. "But because of the disrespect showed to a teacher afterwards, I am not going to award extra credit." Iruka would've looked smug if it wasn't so obvious that Naruto didn't care.

Mizuki turned to give Iruka a sharp look. With Mizuki's back was turned, Naruto stuck out his tongue at Iruka, pulling down his eyelid for effect.

"Iruka," Mizuki whispered to his fellow chunin, unaware of said chunin's swiftly evaporating control. "I know Naruto can be annoying, but you need to calm down. If Naruto files a complaint against you and it makes to the Hokage…" Mizuki looked down at his feet, then glanced back up at Iruka. "You'll be fired."

Mizuki turned away from Iruka, addressing the class. "Alright, class! Well, Naruto just gave you the basics of chakra natures, which is what this lesson is going to be on! Pay attention, because this is going to be vitally important for your future careers as ninja…"

The class listened, albeit not very attentively, with the exception of Sakura.

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

The window across the room from him, the one that showed Naruto's reflection nearly as good as a mirror, cracked. Just a little, small crack, but one that would grow larger as the school year went on, one that represented the start of the end.

Sometimes, people just can't keep their anger inside.

Mizuki and Iruka continued the lecture, oblivious.

And they would stay oblivious, too, until graduation day.

_(There once was a god whose only wish was to stay with mortals.)_

Ino checked her reflection in a window. Sakura stared at Sasuke's reflection in a hand mirror she was using in a failing attempt at subtle stalking. Shikamaru stared lazily out a window, every now and then stopping to use the window to look at the rest of the class. Everyone seemed to be doing something with a reflective surface. Choji, Sasuke, Kiba… Even Hinata was using a window to stare at Naruto from above him.

_(All she wanted was to be human.)_

Naruto blatantly ignore his own reflection, clenching his fists so hard he drew blood.

_(That will never happen.)_

Naruto hated the forehead protectors that shinobi wore. Despised them. He especially hated the new ones, the shiny ones. Why was it that when you were trying to avoid something it was suddenly everywhere?

_(But everyone's allowed to wish…)_

Why couldn't his reflection just go away?

_(Right?)_

(Shine/Meek)

Over the months spent at school, Yamanaka Ino learned a lot about her classmates.

Sure, she learned actual shinobi stuff, too, but mostly, it was more fun to figure out her class than do math equations. What respectable shinobi has to do a math problem to figure out how to throw a kunai? Ino didn't need any of that, anyway. Sakura could keep her little 'cosign equals adjacent over opposite' and her stupid right triangles. Ino was a kunoichi. Who needed math, anyway? After they passed over the area formula two years ago, Ino stopped pretending to be interested. Sure, being able to carpet your floors was useful, and surprisingly fun when you already have a new carpet picked out, but from there math just seemed to dwindle in efficiency and helpfulness.

All that aside, Ino was discovering the most interesting things about people.

Sasuke-kun liked tomatoes. He hardly ever ate anything else.

Sakura was still insecure to the point that it was almost laughable. Yes, Ino could admit to laughing at Sakura on multiple occasions.

Kiba liked to talk big, but he was pretty nice if you could dig past the creepiness. And, yeah, Ino could admit that there was a _ton_ of creepiness there, but Kiba was alright.

Ami was the type of person who really should've been born poorer than dirt with how much of a power addict she was. Really, so your mother's on the civilian council; that doesn't make you better than anyone. Some people really let things go to their heads, don't they?

_Good thing I don't._ Ino blew blonde bangs out of her face. _I'm so perfect that it would probably be attractive._

Shikamaru wasn't really pretending. Even if he was a genius, it seemed that the Nara was just honest to god lazy.

Choji had a very, very, _very_ high metabolism. Eating all the time wasn't just something he enjoyed doing, it was also a necessity. Ino couldn't help but feel a little jealous, but then she looked in the mirror and forgot all about it.

Speaking of mirrors, though, Ino had discovered that if you whip out a hand mirror in front of Naruto, you're very likely to get a broken nose. Ino winced in sympathy pain; Ami had gotten nailed four times already, Sakura twice, and even Sasuke-kun had once. Ino didn't understand why bringing a slightly reflective lunch was a crime, but if a shiny bento was that offensive to Naruto, Ino wasn't going to risk it. No matter how many times Kiba made fun of her about it, Ino wasn't budging.

Hinata wasn't that kind hearted. The Hyuuga tended to place her own needs above those of others. It was true, though; Ino had seen it. Hinata didn't care if the teacher told her to help Tamaki with his chakra control exercises, because if Hinata would rather do something else instead, that's what she would do. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was selfishness, but Hinata was a great shinobi in that aspect; the girl looked after herself. Even if Ino felt a little bad for everyone that Hinata blew off, it was almost respectable. Even more so, considering that Hinata wasn't that remarkable in anything else.

Ino had actually found something that Naruto and Sasuke-kun had in common. Ino wasn't like Sakura; she couldn't pretend that Sasuke was perfect and overlook any and all flaws. Actually, Naruto and Sasuke-kun really had a lot in common, when Ino tried not to be bias. They both had seemingly random triggers that led to rudeness. They were both orphans. Ino sighed wistfully, staring at the chalkboard without really seeing it.

It wasn't like she had to worry about Iruka-sensei calling on her. He only called on Sasuke-kun or Naruto.

Ino started in surprise, her knees hitting the inside of her desk with a soft thump. Another thing they had in common! Then she deflated, sighing. No, Iruka-sensei called on Sakura, too. Ino tapped her pencil against the desk impatiently.

Ino sighed again. She had to raise her spirits! Sure, some of her classmates were strange, dangerous, or creepy, but she was Yamanaka Ino! Silently, Ino promised to start a rumor before the week was over. That was the perfect thing to make her increasingly depressing life more lively! A smile grew on Ino's face until it was almost a grin, showing in the reflective window across from her. Life would be good again! There would be a rumor before Friday!

Then Naruto glared at her fiercely in the reflective surface of the window and Iruka got more in depth in the boring, useless lesson on shinobi who fought in the First Great Shinobi War, and suddenly, the day seemed even more bleak.

_Still, perk up, Ino! Rumors make everything better!_

Ino spent the rest of the day picking her victim. After all, rumors are really just practical jokes, only better. To perform a good one, you need both practice and planning. You had to find someone vulnerable.

Ino's smile did not fade.

(Shine/Meek)

It seemed like it was going to be a pretty normal day for Haruno Sakura.

She'd woken up on time, and then she'd eaten breakfast on time, and then she'd left the house on time, and then she'd gotten to the academy a little bit early, which was really just on time for someone like Haruno Sakura.

Yeah, pretty average so far.

Then Sakura watched Sasuke-kun walk in, followed by Hinata, followed by Shino, followed by Ami, followed by Takashi, followed by Shikamaru, followed by Choji, followed by Kiba, followed by Sayuri, followed by Daigo, followed by Shinta, followed by-

Wait.

Naruto usually follows Daigo into the classroom. Why was Shinta ahead of him? A small curl of dread formed in Sakura's stomach. It didn't matter how many times Naruto broke her nose; he had to walk in before Shinta.

But she kept watching, and Shinta was followed by Toru, followed by Hitomi, followed by-

Wait, wait, wait. Wait a minute.

Sae normally followed after Toru! The curl of dread grew larger. Sakura's eyes were glued to the door.

Hitomi was followed by Khori, followed by Tamaki, followed by Ino, followed by Mori, followed by Sae, followed by Akemi, who is the last student in Sakura's class aside from Naruto, but-

No. Mori is before Ino, after Tamaki! Why isn't Mori where he's supposed to be? Did someone wake up earlier? No, no, no… And now, because Sae wasn't after Toru, Akemi wasn't after Ino, because those two mess ups had to be related, right? Sakura had watched everyone walk into the classroom every single day since school started seven months ago, and it was always the same way. Always.

This was all wrong. Everything. Was. Wrong. Sakura almost whimpered.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, what do you look all freaked out for?"

Sakura yelped, twisting around in her seat to glare in the general direction of the person talking to her. She opened her mouth to shout something, having already prepared a retort, but-

Sakura's heart stopped. She was sure of it.

Naruto frowned at her, then smiled sheepishly, a hand going behind his head to rub the back of his neck. He looked embarrassed. "Sorry, did I scare you or something?"

This was all wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong… The word echoed in Sakura's head.

"Naruto?" Sakura fought to keep her voice even, trying very hard not to cry. She wasn't sure if even staring at Sasuke-kun could make her feel better right now. "When did you get here?"

Naruto blinked stupidly, then seemed to think about the question. Sakura stared at him.

"Oh! Right! I've been here since before you got in, Sakura-chan. I was just asleep." Sakura stared at him, her eyes wide in horror, her mouth open in a gasp.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto ventured, slowly shifting away from her to lean back in his desk. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Sakura murmured faintly. Her head promptly smashed down onto the desktop below. _Ouch_. Her mind dully registered. _That hurt._

Sakura couldn't believe it.

Her entire life was ruined.

Sure, she could easily blame Naruto for this, but it was her own fault, really. How could she let this happen? Why did this happen?

Every single day of her life, from the moment Sakura could go to school, or see her friends at the park, or do anything, she had been the first one there.

Every single day Sakura was the first one at school. Every. Single. Day.

And now it was ruined forever.

Sure, Sakura would likely be the first one in school tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after the day after that. And probably every single day after the day after the day after that.

Sure, Sakura had been the first one to school yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before the day before that. And every single day before the day before the day before that.

But then there was _today._ And Sakura had been the second person in the classroom today.

Haruno Sakura promptly burst into tears.

Most people didn't think much of Sakura's loud sobbing, or Naruto's awkward but well intentioned attempts at consoling her.

But Yamanaka Ino, a girl who had been contemplating the lack of interestingness in her life, saw Sakura and pounced. By tomorrow, everyone would know that Sakura's grandfather had committed suicide, her parents were divorcing because neither wanted to live with Sakura anymore, and that Sakura was only put into the shinobi program in the hopes that she would be killed in action.

Not that any of that was true. But, hey, it's not like that isn't hard to believe at all.

Yes, certain blonde females who have blue eyes and put their hair in ponytails _are_ that mean.

Class went on, and Sakura sniffed, ignorant of the chaos to come. Despite Naruto offering to take her for ramen after class, Sakura couldn't shake the bad feelings off. If her perfect record was already blemished, what else did she have to lose?

Oh, if only you knew, Sakura. It would make little difference in the outcome, and it's doubtful that Sakura would even care until she had time to mourn, but still. A warning would've been nice.

Sadly, good shinobi give no warning.

(Or, that was Ino's motto, despite how many times she goes back on in in the future.)

**Author's note: **Okay, I know, it was short. I tried really hard to make it at least 4,000 words, but I just… Couldn't. I look over at other stories, and they're like, 'Sorry it's only 50,000 words guys, I'm having an off day' and I'm like, 'uh…'

Reviews help me update faster! So, please give me your input on the rewrite. Thank you for reading this!


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